Is the HIPPA law broken when my pharmacist shares what drug class my RX is in while I pick the RX with my friend?

Can my pharmacist say what class of medication I am picking up, when many people are in earshot?

I was at the counter yesterday with a co-worker picking up my prescription. The pharmacist did not like the way I signed my name on the machine. He stated it did not look like my signature on my DL and that since I was picking up a narcotic the signature needed to match.

Since my co-worker standing there with me, did I give some sort of permission for the pharmacist to state the type of rx I was picking up? There was also another customer in ear shot of his comment.

(the prescription is for me and I have been getting the rx there for quite some time and no other pharmacist or tech has ever questioned my signature or felt the need to state the contents of my bag)

I called the pharmacy to complain and they said since he did not say the name of the drug, it was not a HIPAA violation. That doesn't seem right. Most people know what a narcotic is and that is personal information. In my opinion, it would have been better to say Hydrocodone (before I started taking it -- I had no clue what it was.. but I have known what a narcotic is for quite some time).

This page answers questions about Medicare Part D, the prescription drug benefit offered by Medicare. Topics include: Who is eligible? What are some of the Costs? Factors to Consider when choosing a p…